More flood news

Lake Delton likely to be dry rest of year

Lake Delton - Recovery plans for Lake Delton began to take shape today as village and state officials discussed how to redirect the lake's feeder creek back to its original channel and away from a breach in a small bay that has grown to at least 400 feet wide and 20 to 30 feet deep since yesterday morning.

I don't know why it took me so long to wrap my brain around this, but it wasn't the dam that burst: it was the land. The lake burst through an enormous section of land between it and the Wisconsin River.

Silly of it, since it could get to the river just by going through the dam. Anyway, now it's treating the breach like its usual route.

There was a great map of it in the Baraboo News Republic today, but their website is down at the moment. I'll add it later if I can.

After the meeting, Tom Diehl, a village trustee and operator of the Tommy Bartlett Show, officially confirmed what many people haven't wanted to accept: Lake Delton will be dry this summer and will remain that way for the rest of the year.

Andy Morton, a lower Wisconsin supervisor for the state Department of Natural Resources, said a team of engineers are currently determining the best way to build a diversion for Dell Creek so it flows as it did prior to Monday: from nearby Mirror Lake, through Lake Delton, and out over the dam on the east side of the lake into the Wisconsin River.

Diehl said that the longer the water continues to rush into the Wisconsin River through the newly carved and rapidly eroding crevasse north of the dam - which removed a portion of Highway A, five houses and four vacant lots Monday - the more expensive the area will be to fix.

Diehl estimated that the infrastcture damage already done will cost between $5 million and $10 million to repair.

Meanwhile, the show will go on at Lake Delton resorts. They're open for business, and believe it: there's a ton to do up there that has nothing to do with the lake itself.

Go spend your money!

There doesn’t seem to be a great deal of concern about dam failures, with the possible exception of the Mukwonago Dam.

There’s also some concern over what the debris from Lake Delton floating down the Wisconsin River will do, and where it’ll end up.

The Journal Sentinel’s website seems like the best place for pictures, video, and updates.